Slow Fade
by WizardsandWings101
Summary: Song fic about Luke. It goes from the time Luke and Annabeth arrive at Camp, to the end of The Last Olympian. Please read and review! reposting on new account, see bio for details!


Ok, so I heard this song a few days ago on a CD that I got for Easter, and when I listened to it again, I realized how much is relates to Luke. So I decided to try my hand at a Song-fic. Please don't kill me if it's bad!! I'm REALLY new at writing stories, and I don't have Elli helping me on this one! So, flames are allowed, but will be fed to Peleus if too harsh! Here's the story! The name of the song will be in the ending Authors note!

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. Rick Riordan does. If I did, Luke would not be dead, and I would have the new series out already!!! Hurry up, Rick!!!

~~~~~~~P~~~~~~~E~~~~~~~R~~~~~~~C~~~~~~~A~~~~~~~B~~~~~~~E~~~~~~~T~~~~~~~H~~~~~~~

_Be careful little eyes what you see_

_It's the second glance that ties your hands_

_As Darkness pulls the strings_

Luke ran up the ever-steepening hill, trying to get himself and his young charge away from the monsters chasing them. He could hear Thalia panting behind him, and the electricity in the air told him she was doing her _Daughter of Zeus_ thing (1). He shot a quick glance at Annabeth, who was running beside him, and saw that she was tiring. She wouldn't be able to make it much further.

Luke heard the bay of the Hellhounds chasing them, eager to capture their warm prey. The Furies flew above, but did not attack. He had a feeling that they were waiting for something, but what that something was, he couldn't guess. He had the desire to look behind him, but he knew that the second he did, he would quickly fall prey to the hoard of monsters. Also, he didn't really want to know how many there were. The sound of pounding hooves came to his opposite side, and he knew Grover was struggling to keep up. Luke finally couldn't take it anymore; he looked. And he didn't like what he saw. Thalia had stopped running, and was now pulling out her sword. "Grover! Get them out of here! I'll hold them off!"

Luke stopped, and Annabeth came to a confused halt beside him. "Thalia! No!" he shouted, hating to see his best friend prepared to fight a battle she had no chance of winning. She turned to look at him, a determined look burning in her blue eyes (A/N: they are blue, right?). "I said go, Luke! I can't run from Hades anymore!".

He gave one last anguished look at his best friend, then turned and picked up Annabeth, sprinting the last 50 feet down into the valley. He managed to get to the porch before collapsing. His last conscious thought was, _Thalia…_

And the next morning, he saw the Pine Tree.

_Be careful little feet where you go_

_For the little feet behind you_

_Are sure to follow_

Slashing the head off of the last dummy, Luke stormed out of the Arena, his anger not yet subsided. It was only a week since he and Annabeth had arrived at half-blood hill, and the wound of Thalia's death was still raw. Annabeth was confused, not yet understanding that Thalia wouldn't be coming back. Every day she asked Luke, "When is thalia gonna be back? (2)", and he had to think of some excuse to get away before he broke down. He didn't want her to feel the pain he felt… not yet.

Luke looked up from studying his walking feet to find that he had wandered close to the forest. Even from here, he could smell the monsters lurking, waiting for a Demigod to come challenge them. Without even thinking, he marched into the woods, intent on searching out a monster that he could have a challenge with. Fortuna (3) must have been on his side that day, because it was not long before he found a large spider (4) wandering in the woods, obviously looking for food. Luke quietly brought out his sword, making an attempt not to alert the beast until he was ready to strike. Creeping forward, he managed to get within five feet of the beast, but it whirled to face him. Luke raised his sword, ready to strike, when the spider simply brushed past him. Luke turned, wanting to see what prey could distract the arachnid from a fight, and saw the last thing he hoped to find.

Annabeth stood there, shaking, as the spider crept closer, it's pincers snapping menacingly. Luke ran forward, charging up behind the spider, killing it before it had the chance to hurt Annabeth. As it melted into dust, Luke turned to the shaking girl, kneeling down to give her a reassuring hug. "It's ok, it's ok." He murmured, feeling the sobs racking her small frame. "I-I just w-wanted to s-see what you were d-doing", she cried, "I t-thought we m-might have fun, like b-before". He gently picked her up, carrying her back to the cabins.

From that day on, he made sure he wasn't followed.

_It's a slow fade_

_When you give yourself away._

Luke tossed and turned in his bunk, his sleep filled with dreams of evil.

"_bring me the items, boy" _a dark, cruel voice whispered, as if it didn't have any strength left.

"_bring them, and I will give you the power to destroy the gods who abandoned you!"_

Luke smiled in his dreams. His revenge was slowly happening.

_It's a slow fade_

_When black and white turn to gray _

Luke watched from the hill as Annabeth took on two Ares campers in the arena. She was a good fighter, even though she was only 12. She wasn't very different from Thalia, he realized. Their attitude was the same, and their fighting skill. The only differences were the eyes and hair. While Thalia was pale, with black hair (5) and blue eyes, Annabeth had a nice tan, even in winter, with blond hair and startling gray eyes, a trademark sign of a child of Athena. Yet Annabeth's eyes were the prettiest, he mused. He liked the shade of gray they were. They were more…mysterious, somehow… (6)

_And thoughts invade_

_Choices are made_

Luke had seen the entrance to Olympus before, but it still managed to awe him. He might hate the gods, but they still had great taste in decorations…

"_enough foolishness!"_ the voice of Kronos shouted in his mind, _"get the cap from the girl, so that you can steal the bolt!" _Luke hesitated. He hadn't decieded whether or not he wanted to bring Annabeth into this. "_just do it! She will be busy looking at statues of the gods! It will not be hard to simply take it!" _

Kronos made sense, but still he hesitated. He could almost hear the exasperation Kronos was trying to hold back from him. Finally, in a calm-ish voice, Kronos reasoned, _" you can return it to her later. Besides, do you want to see the gods fall, or become a servant to their whims?" _ This got Luke's attention. Steeling his nerves, he ran to find Annabeth.

_A price will be paid_

_When you give yourself away_

Luke dashed down the next alley, the bolt tucked safely under his shirt. He could hear Ares behind him, shouting threats, attempting to use his power to make Luke want to turn and fight. But Kronos had taught Luke how to avoid the influence of the gods, and Ares' threats did nothing to him. Luke turned and skidded down the street, trying to shake off Ares, to no prevail. The war god caught him just as he passed the first store.

"Hey there, Punk.", the god sneered. "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you. And you're gonna pay for taking it."

Luke prepared himself for a fight, but paused as the voice of Kronos slithered into his mind, telling him what to say. He opened his mouth and prepared to speak.

_People Never Crumble in a day_

It had been weeks since the Winter solstice, and yet Ares had still not gotten the Bolt to Kronos. Luke sighed, leaning back onto his bunk. He could hardly believe it had been so long since he had given himself to Kronos' service.

_Be careful little ears what you hear_

_When flattery leads to compromise_

_The end is always near_

"_no", _Luke said in his mind, trying fruitlessly to avert Kronos from the plan he was forming.

"_You must"_ , the voice of Kronos said, an icy edge creeping into his already cold voice. "_you are the only one strong enough to be able to do this". _Luke was beginning to panic. He knew that this could very well end badly if not successful, but, unknowingly, Kronos' plan was beginning to sound more and more possible. "Why should I?" Luke demanded. "Why not one of the other Demi-gods? That Nakamura kid, for instance! He would do fine!".

"_**you **__must supply my host body. You are the only Demi-God who still knows their mortal mother. Her blessing is the only thing we still need! It will not work with any other!" _

Luke sighed, realizing that hope was beginning to dwindle. Kronos had been trying to persuade him to go to the Styx for days now, and he was not likely to give up soon.

"_Would you rather the gods won? My brothers cannot hope to succeed without my assistance, and I cannot regain my original form" _Luke realized that what Kronos said was true. If Kronos was not helping in the fight, the Titans had less a chance of winning. And if they lost, all that he had worked for would be destroyed. There was no going back. Luke gave a reluctant sigh, finally submitting to his masters whims. "Very well. I will go. But you must promise me that Annabeth and Thalia will not be hurt." The voice of Kronos was reluctant to respond, but he finally got a very grudging "_Alright, I agree to your terms". _

Readying his nerves, Luke got himself ready to visit the mother he had not seen for almost 10 years (7).

_Be careful little lips what you say_

_For empty words and promises _

_Lead broken hearts astray_

Luke cut off his mind link with Kronos, hoping that the Titan had not sensed the plan forming in his head. Trying to steady his racing heart, Luke raised his hand and brought it against the door in front of him. He heard a muffled call of, "Just a minute!", followed by the pounding of footsteps against the floor. Beneath those sounds, he also heard the nearly silent sound very familiar to his ears. It was the sound of a weapon being drawn. The door opened, revealing a very sleepy looking Annabeth. She looked at Luke once in shock, before shouting and drawing her knife from its hiding place at her side. Luke, expecting her to react as such, raised his own knife, but not as a weapon. He didn't want to hurt her, only get her to stop for a second. "Annabeth, please!" he cried, wishing he had not taught her to fight so well. "Annabeth, I'm not here to fight! Will you just talk to me?". He didn't know how much she heard, but the young woman slowly lowered her knife from where it was poised at his throat.

"What do you want, you Traitor?" She spat.

"I just want to talk to you". He repeated. She looked him up and down, then, deciding he had no other weapon, held out her hand. He silently handed her the sharp object, then raised his hands, showing her that he had no other weapon. She nodded, then led him inside to a small kitchen, sitting herself down at the table, and motioning for him to do the same.

"Now talk." She demanded. He took a deep breath and steeled his nerves.

"Annabeth, I need your help." (8)

_The journey from you mind into your hands_

_Is shorter than you're thinking_

For years, he had dreamed of being powerful enough to dethrone the gods. And now, here he stood, at the bank of the river that could give him that power. He took a deep breath and plunged into the green and black current. (9).

_Be careful if you think you stand_

_You just might be sinking_

He had been so sure of the plan. Of his revenge. But now, looking at it again, he realized just how flawed it was. He thought he had been standing strong by himself, but he had really just been sinking further into the Titans clutches. And then, he gave him the last thing he had. His very soul. Everything Luke had, everything he was, he gave to Kronos. And now, he had sunk too far down, and he didn't think he could get himself back out again.

_People never crumble in a day_

Four years. It had taken his four years to realize his mistake. And now, he had no way of fixing it… or did he?

_Daddies never crumble in a day_

He had always hated his father. He had never been there. Not when Luke found out he was a Demi-god, not when his mom was having a fit, her eyes glowing green, and her voice rasping and hissing like a snake. Kronos fed off of that hatred, for it was those emotions that made the Titan stronger.

_Families never crumble in a day_

Watching through the eyes of Kronos, he saw Annabeth as she was thrown to the floor, her arm bent at an odd angle, her lip bleeding. "Family, Luke. You Promised." Those words hit him like a punch in the gut, and, summoning all of his will, Luke forced his mind to overpower that of the Titan lord.

"Annabeth". He croaked.

_It's a slow fade _

Without a bit of hesitation, Luke stabbed himself with the knife.

**Oh. My. Gosh. I finished it!!! Eee!!!! :D it took me forever to finish this, because I didn't always have access to a computer. Anyway, if you were wondering about the random numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) those were just certain things I planned on explaining in the Authors Note. Soo.. I'll explain now! **

**Hahaha, that is a reference to the books.. I think TLO.. not sure…**

**I know Annabeth is the daughter of the goddess of wisdom, but she is also a little kid, and part of her just doesn't know why Thalia hasn't come to visit her.**

**Greek goddess of luck.. I think…**

**Well, I needed a monster, and it fit, considering I needed a monster that would immediately attack Annabeth.**

**Ok, so I've always imagined her blond, but the book says her hair is black, and I needed it to be black for the story to work.**

**Ok.. so I know Luke never really said anything about liking Annabeth, but I decided to add this, just because it shows that he is finally getting over thalia,.**

**Is it 10?? Idk.. I was trying to calculate his age and stuff…**

**Ok, so this is a bit of a cliffie. I was gonna add more, but I worried about ruining it, so I broke it off there.**

**I don't know why, but I always imagined the Styx being that color. **

**Anyway, please tell me in a review what you think!! I worked really hard on this, and this is my first time writing without Elli as my Beta. So please, be nice!!!**


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